Credit Referral

ABSTRACT

A social networking system leverages information obtained regarding user interactions with applications hosted through the social networking system as well as information obtained regarding purchases of application-related digital items and digital currencies to provide insight into user behavior. The social networking system can use these insights to enhance the user&#39;s experience of the applications, purchases, and the social networking system generally. For example, the social networking system can customize transaction flows, provide credit referrals, and provide users with aggregated yet personally tailored sales information.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to social networking, and in particularto credit transactions systems integrated into social networkingsystems.

Social networking systems have become prevalent in recent years becausethey provide a useful environment in which users can connect to andcommunicate with other users. A variety of different types of socialnetworking systems exist that provide mechanisms allowing users tointeract within their social networks. Social networks are particularlyadept at organizing incoming social information and displaying the mostrelevant pieces of information to a user.

In addition to providing connections and communications between users,social networking systems have evolved into platforms for accessing andinteracting with different types of applications provided by thirdparties. For example, many computer games exist that are hosted by thirdparties and that interface with and through the social networking systemso that users of the social networking system may share in gameplay andsocialize regarding their in-game actions. Some third party gameproviders sell digital goods in exchange for real-world currency, wherethe digital goods can be used as part of gameplay. In order to unify theuser experience for social networking systems and the applicationsintegrated within them, social networking systems have implementedunified digital currencies that may be used in any of the applicationsintegrated with the social networking system.

Existing social networking systems, however, have not been able toleverage information regarding user's transactions and application use,particularly between applications hosted by different parties or betweenusers, in any meaningful way.

SUMMARY

A social networking system leverages information obtained regarding userinteractions with applications hosted through the social networkingsystem as well as information obtained regarding purchases ofapplication-related digital items and digital currencies to provideinsight into user behavior. The social networking system can use theseinsights to enhance the user's experience of the applications,purchases, and the social networking system generally.

In one embodiment, the information is used to personalize the flow oftransactions for the purchase of in-application items or digitalcurrencies to the user's level of experience regarding digitalcurrencies. For less experienced users, the costs of items may bedisplayed in real-world currencies rather than digital currency, theuser may be provided with more instruction for how to perform apurchase, and the user may be provided more opportunities to confirm oropt out of a transaction. Alternatively, for experienced users who aremore interested in completing the transaction quickly, the transactionflow may be tailored to streamline the process to avoid burdening theusers with choices that the social networking system predicts will beaffirmed anyway. This streamlined experience may even be provided thefirst time a user purchases an item for a given application, since thesocial networking system may determine that the users are experiencedbased on their previous transaction or application use from otherapplications associated with the social networking system.

In another embodiment, the social networking system uses the informationto offer digital currency referral services as a reward to purchasers ofdigital currencies. For example, if two friends are active game playersof different games hosted through the social networking system, wheneverone friend purchases an in-game item, they may be provided with theopportunity of giving a few credits for free to their friend toencourage them to join them in the play of the same game. The socialnetworking system is capable of obtaining information about applicationinteractions and purchases across multiple applications, and thereforethe credit referrals can be used by third party application providers tocross-sell their applications to users who have shown a willingness toobtain and spend digital currency and who might be interested in theirapplication.

In another embodiment, the social networking system aggregates thereceived digital currency transaction information to provide users withtargeted information about what types of digital items are available forpurchase, where they can be obtained, and how much the user can expectto pay for them. Which digital items are provided to users may bedetermined by aggregating digital currency transaction information fromother users they are connected to, directly or indirectly, within thesocial networking system. For example, it may be suggested to the userthat a sale is currently being held for a particular digital item, andthat so far 500 people they are associated with have purchased the itemat the sale price.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a network diagram of one embodiment of a system for providinga user with a social networking system as well as games that interfacewith the social networking system but are hosted by third partiesoutside of the social networking system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a social networking system, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an interaction diagram illustrating a process for altering atransaction flow for the purchase of a application related digital itemusing a virtual currency, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process for providing digital currencyreferrals to users connected through a social networking system,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for providing a user with informationregarding digital items that other users of the social networking systemhave purchased, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview of a Social Networking System Network

FIG. 1 is a network diagram of one embodiment of a system for providinga user with a social networking system as well as applications thatinterface with the social networking system but are hosted by thirdparties. The system 100 includes one or more user devices 110, thesocial networking system 130, third party servers 120, and a network140. For purposes of illustration, the embodiment of the system 100shown by FIG. 1 includes a single user device 110 and two differentthird party servers 120 a and 120 b. However, in other embodiments, thesystem 100 may include more user devices 110 and/or more or less thirdparty servers 120. The social networking system 130 provides a platform,or backbone, which other systems may use to provide social networkingservices and functionalities to users across the Internet.

A user device 110 comprises one or more computing devices that canreceive input from a user and can transmit and receive data via thenetwork 140. For example, the user device 110 may be a desktop computer,a laptop computer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDAs) orany other device including computing functionality and datacommunication capabilities. The user device 110 is configured tocommunicate with the social networking system 130 via the network 140,which may comprise any combination of local area and/or wide areanetworks, using both wired and wireless communication systems. In oneembodiment, the user device 110 displays content from the socialnetworking system 130.

The social networking system 130 comprises one or more computing devicesstoring a social network, comprising a plurality of users and providingusers of the social network with the ability to communicate and interactwith other users of the social network. According to variousembodiments, the social networking system 130 may comprise a website, oralternatively a server that can be accessed through a wired or wirelessnetwork 140 by user devices 110. In use, users join the socialnetworking system 130 and then add connections (i.e., relationships) toa number of other users of the social networking system 130 to whom theydesire to be connected. As used herein, the term “friend” refers to anyother user of the social networking system 130 to whom a user has formeda connection, association, or relationship via the social networkingsystem 130. Connections may be added explicitly by a user or may beautomatically created by the social networking systems 130 based oncommon characteristics of the users (e.g., users who are alumni of thesame educational institution). For example, a first user specificallyselects a particular other user to be a friend. Connections in thesocial networking system 130 are usually in both directions, but neednot be, so the terms “user” and “friend” depend on the frame ofreference. Connections between users of the social networking system 130are usually bilateral, or “mutual,” but connections may also beunilateral, or “one-way.” For example, if Bob and Joe are both users ofthe social networking system 130 and connected to each other, Bob andJoe are each other's connections. If, on the other hand, Bob wishes toconnect to Joe to view data communicated to the social networking systemby Joe but Joe does not wish to form a mutual connection, a unilateralconnection may be established. The connection between users may be adirect connection; however, some embodiments of a social networkingsystem allow the connection to be indirect via one or more levels ofconnections or degrees or separation. Using a social graph, therefore, asocial networking system may keep track of many different types ofobjects and the interactions and connections among those objects,thereby maintaining an extremely rich store of socially relevantinformation.

The social networking system 130 is also capable of linking a variety ofentities. For example, the social networking system 130 enables users tointeract with each other as well as with applications hosted remotely bythird-party servers 120 or other entities, or to allow users to interactwith these entities through an API or other communication channels. Inaddition to establishing and maintaining connections between users andallowing interactions between users, the social networking system 130provides users with the ability to take actions on various types ofinformation stored in the social networking system 130.

Interfacing with applications hosted by third party servers 120 allowsusers to interact with the social networking system 130 while alsointeracting with applications provided by the third party server 120 inthe same user interface. By interacting with the social networkingsystem, these applications may provide social functionality byincorporating features from the social networking system that theyinterface with. One example of applications provided by third partyservers 120 includes online games that are played by users of the socialnetworking system 130 within the interface of the social networkingsystem 130. This interconnecting (or interfacing) between the gameprovided by third party servers and the social networking system 130allows users to connect their in-game, or more generally in-application,activities to their social network activities, such that the two canaffect each other. For example, activities that occur in-application canbe represented as social information for the user in the socialnetworking system, and in the reverse social information of the user canbe used as an input to the application thereby affecting the behavior ofthe application (e.g., affecting gameplay).

The functionality that is provided by applications hosted by the thirdparty servers 120 may also be provided by applications hosted at thesocial networking system instead, either on the same server, by the samecompany, within the same network. The applications may also be builtinto the social networking system 130 itself.

Social Networking System Architecture

FIG. 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of a social networking system 130.The embodiment of a social networking system 130 shown by FIG. 2includes a web server 210, an action logger 240, an action log 245, anauthorization server 250, a user profile store 270, a connection store260, an application platform 220, and a credit engine 230. In otherembodiments, the social networking system 130 may include additional,fewer, or different modules for various applications. Conventionalcomponents such as network interfaces, security mechanisms, loadbalancers, failover servers, management and network operations consoles,and the like are not shown so as to not obscure the details of thesystem.

As described above in conjunction with FIG. 1, the social networkingsystem 130 allows users to communicate or otherwise interact with eachother and access content as described herein. The social networkingsystem 130 stores user profiles describing the users of a social networkin a user profile store 270. The user profiles include biographic,demographic, and other types of descriptive information, such as workexperience, educational history, hobbies or preferences, interests,location, and the like. For example, the user profile store 270 containsdata structures with fields suitable for describing a user's profile.When a new information item of a particular type is created, the socialnetworking system 130 initializes a new data structure, i.e., a “node”of the corresponding type, assigns a unique identifier to it, and beginsto add data to it as needed. This might occur, for example, when a userbecomes a user of the social networking system 130, the socialnetworking system 130 generates a new instance of a user profile in theuser profile store 270, assigns a unique identifier to the user profile,and begins to populate the fields of the user profile with informationprovided by the user.

In addition, the user profile store 270 may include data structuressuitable for describing a user's demographic data, behavioral data, andother social data. Demographic data typically includes data about theuser, such as age, gender, location, etc., e.g., as included in theuser's profile. Behavioral data typically includes information about theuser's activities within the social networking system 130, such asspecific actions (posts, likes, comments, etc.), activity levels, usagestatistics, etc. Other social data comprises information about the userfrom within the social networking system 130 that is not strictlydemographic or behavioral, such as interests or affinities, etc. In oneembodiment, user's interests may be explicitly specified in the user'sprofile or interests that may be inferred from the user's activities inthe social networking system (e.g., uploaded content, postings, readingof messages, etc). Additionally, the user profile store 270 includeslogic for maintaining user interest information for users according toone or more categories. Categories may be general or specific, e.g., ifa user “likes” an article about a brand of shoes the category may be thebrand, or the general category of “shoes” or “clothing.” Multiplecategories may apply to a single user interest. In addition, the userprofile store 270 may be accessed by other aspects of the socialnetworking system 130.

The social networking system 130 further stores data describing one ormore connections between different users in a user connection store 260.The connection information may indicate users who have similar or commonwork experience, group memberships, hobbies, educational history, or arein any way related or share common attributes. Additionally, the socialnetworking system 130 includes user-defined connections betweendifferent users, allowing users to specify their relationships withother users. For example, user-defined connections allow users togenerate relationships with other users that parallel the users'real-life relationships, such as friends, co-workers, partners, and soforth. Users may select from predefined types of connections, or definetheir own connection types as needed. The connection store 260 includesdata structures suitable for describing a user's connections to otherusers, connections to third-party servers 120, or connections to otherentities. The connection stores 260 may also associate a connection typewith a user's connections, which may be used in conjunction with theuser's privacy setting, to regulate access to information about theuser. In addition, the connection store 260 may be accessed by otheraspects of the social networking system 130.

The web server 210 links the social networking system to one or moreuser devices 110 via the network 140. The web server 210 serves webpages, as well as other web-related content, such as Java, Flash, XML,and so forth. The web server 210 may include a notification and/or mailserver or other messaging functionality for receiving and routingmessages between the social networking system 130 and one or more userdevices 110. The messages can be instant messages, queued messages(e.g., email), text and SMS messages, or any other suitable messagingformat.

Application platform 220 links the social networking system 130 to oneor more third party servers 120 via the network 140. The third partyservers 120 host applications that interface with the social networkingsystem 130. The application platform provides the mechanism for thatinteraction including, for example, APIs for interfacing theapplications with the social networking system. For example, the APIsmay include mechanisms for interacting with a user's profile, or forretrieving their transaction history, for processing a transactionrequest, and/or for transmitting data regarding in-application behaviorby the user to the social networking system 130. Through the actionlogger 240 and action log 245 described immediately below, theapplication platform communicates with the third party servers 120 toretrieve and store information associated with the user's interactionsand use of applications.

The action logger 240 is capable of receiving communications from theweb server 210 about user actions on and/or off the social networkingsystem 130. The action logger 240 populates the action log 245 withinformation about user actions, allowing the social networking system130 to track or monitor various actions taken by its users within thesocial networking system 130 and outside of the social networking system130. Any action that a particular user takes with respect to anotheruser is associated with each user's profile, through informationmaintained in the action log 245 or in a similar database or other datarepository. Examples of actions taken by a user within the socialnetwork 130 that are identified and stored may include, for example,adding a connection to another user, sending a message to another user,reading a message from another user, viewing content associated withanother user, attending an event posted by another user or other actionsinteracting with another user. When a user takes an action within thesocial networking system 130, the action is recorded in the action log245. In one embodiment, the social networking system maintains theaction log 245 as a database of entries. When an action is taken withinthe social networking system 130, an entry for the action is added tothe action log 245.

The authorization server 250 enforces one or more privacy settings ofthe users of the social networking system 130. A privacy setting of auser determines how particular information associated with a user can beshared. The privacy setting comprises the specification of particularinformation associated with a user and the specification of the entityor entities with whom the information can be shared. Examples ofentities with which information can be shared may include other users,applications, external websites or any entity that can potentiallyaccess the information. The information that can be shared by a usercomprises user profile information like profile photo, phone numbersassociated with the user, user's connections, actions taken by the usersuch as adding a connection, changing user profile information and thelike.

The useful social information that is tracked and maintained by a socialnetworking system can be thought of in terms of a “social graph,” whichincludes a plurality of nodes that are interconnected by a plurality ofedges. Each node in the social graph may represent something that canact on and/or be acted upon by another node. Common examples of nodesinclude users, non-person entities, content, groups, events, messages,concepts, and any other thing that can be represented by the socialnetworking system. An edge between two nodes in the social graphrepresents a particular kind of connection between the two nodes, whichmay result from an action that was performed by one of the nodes on theother node.

The social networking system 130 may receive a request to associate theweb content with a node in the social networking system 130. An externalwebsite incorporates a tag into the markup language document for the webpage(s) of the web content to claim ownership of the pages/domain in thecontext of the social networking system 130. In some cases, an entiredomain or collection of web pages is associated with a unique identifierthat associates the web pages with a node. Once established, the socialnetworking system 130 tracks data associated with the node in the actionlog 230.

Data stored in the connection store 260, the user profile store 270 andthe action log 245 allows the social networking system 130 to generate asocial graph that uses nodes to identify various information items andedges connecting nodes to identify relationships between different itemsof information. An edge between two nodes in the social graph representsa particular kind of connection between the two nodes, which may resultfrom an action that was performed by one of the nodes on the other node.

Any information stored or represented by the social networking systemmay be characterized generally as information items. Information itemsmay include, for example, user profile information, relationshipinformation, recent or upcoming activity information, etc. A fewspecific examples include major life events such as graduation,marriage, or the birth of a child, as well as minor events such aschanges in user location, check-ins, comments on other items in thesocial networking system, tags to photos and other day to dayoccurrences. These are just a few examples of the information items uponwhich a user may act on a social networking system, and many others arepossible.

With respect to user profile information, further examples includeanything a user can add, upload, send, or “post,” to the socialnetworking system 130. For example, a user communicates posts to thesocial networking system 130 from a user device 110. Posts may includedata such as status updates or other textual data, location information,photos, videos, links, music or other similar data and/or media.Information items may also be added to the social networking system 130by a third-party through a “communication channel,” such as a newsfeedor stream.

The credit engine 230 provides a mechanism for allowing digitaltransactions for the purchase of general and application specificdigital features and items (referred to as “digital items” generally).For users of the social networking system, the credit engine 230maintains credit balance information indicating the amount of currencyavailable to the user to purchase digital items. Additionally, thecredit engine 230 may store access to a user's checking or savingsaccount with institutions such as a bank to allow greater access tocurrency for purchase of items. The available currency may include anumber of different types of currencies in real-world currencydenominations (e.g., dollar or euro), as well as digital currencies. Thecredit engine 230 further allows the purchase of digital currenciesusing real-world currencies.

The credit engine 230 also provides for the storage of a user'stransaction history for the items they have purchased through the creditengine 230 and the social networking system 130. This activity can bereceived and stored in conjunction with the action logger 240, theaction log 245, and a user's profile. In addition to storing individualuser's transaction information, the credit engine may work inconjunction with the other aspects of the social networking system toprovide a user interface for digital item transactions, where the userinterface and the flow of the transaction more generally may changedepending upon the user's previous transaction and applicationexperience. Further, the credit engine 230 is configured to aggregateand process generalized sales information to provide a particular userwith customized information about digital items for sale. In conjunctionwith the user profile store 270, the credit engine is configured toprovide bonus credit referrals to a user who is purchasing digitalcurrency.

Digital Currency Purchasing Flows

The social networking system 130 leverages user interactions withapplications interfacing with the social networking system,application-related digital item transactions, and user profileinformation to enhance the user's experience. In one implementation, thesocial networking system uses the information to alter the flow oftransactions for digital currency or application-related digital items.For experienced users, this streamlines the transaction experience byremoving unnecessary interactions. Alternatively, for newer users thesocial networking system can more deliberate step through the purchase,e.g., by providing additional educational detail to help the userunderstand digital currencies and in-application items as well as wheretheir money is going. Tailoring the transaction flow to the level ofexperience of the user will increase new user trust in the security ofthe system, while over time remove redundancy the user alreadyunderstands and accepts.

As a result, altering transaction flow based on user interaction andtransaction information minimizes the need for independent usereducation regarding digital currencies and their method of operation.For example, if users have used one application, they can be ensuredthat the purchasing system works similarly with other applications.Further, once they have used an application, for example, a few times,they will not need to be constantly reminded of purchasing instructions.This increases the trust and goodwill users will have for digitalcurrency systems, which will help increase their adoption. This alsominimizes the need for individual third party applications providers toimplement individual currency systems and transaction systems or explainto uses how they work.

The interaction, transaction, and user profile information can also beused to provide additional services and benefits to users. In oneimplementation, when a user is purchasing virtual currency, theinformation can be used to determine other friends of the user who haverevealed preferences for applications and in-application purchases,e.g., through their application use and transaction information. Thisinformation can be used to provide the user with the option of rewardingtheir friends with credits, in addition to those they are purchasing inthe transaction. These rewards may be given by the user as gifts totheir friends to encourage them to, for example, play a new game andpurchase game related digital items.

In another implementation, the information can be used to provide a userwith up to date information about what kinds of application relateddigital items other groups of users are purchasing. This sales data canbe obtained by aggregating application and transaction information forusers who are connected, directly or indirectly, with the user. Thesales data is anonymous in that it represents the aggregated purchasepreferences of groups of users rather than individual users. The salesdata can be tailored to the user's individual interests based on theirapplication use.

The social networking system receives information about application usefor application that are hosted by third parties and that interface withthe social networking system. The social networking system is able toreceive this information from multiple different applicationsindependent of whether the applications are entirely hosted within thesocial networking system itself, or whether the applications are hostedby external third parties, which then interface with the socialnetworking system. The social networking system also receivesinformation about any transactions that users have conducted to purchasevirtual currency, or to purchase application related digital items usingeither digital or real world currency. Transactions information cansimilarly be obtained directly by the social networking system, orindirectly from the applications interfacing with the social networkingsystem.

Transaction Flow Alteration

FIG. 3 illustrates an interaction diagram for altering a transactionflow for the purchase of an application related digital item using avirtual currency, according to one embodiment. A social networkingsystem 130 interfaces with one or more applications. These applicationsmay be hosted by the social networking system 130 itself or they may behosted by third party servers 120. Users of the social networking system130 interact with the social networking system 130 and the applications120 through user devices 110.

As users make use of the applications, the third party servers 120receive 305 information regarding the user's interactions andtransactions regarding the application. For example, if the user isplaying a game such as FARMVILLE, the user's gameplay may be transmittedto the third party server 120. Whenever the user accomplishes something,for example planting a new field of vegetables, the third party server120 is notified of the user's accomplishment. The third party server 120also receives 305 information regarding the user's purchase ofapplication related digital items. For example, if the user purchases atractor in FARMVILLE using digital currency, the third party server 120hosting the game receives this information. The third party server 120sends 310 the transaction and application use information to the socialnetworking system 130. The social networking system stores 310 theinformation.

At any time, the third party server 120 may receive 315 a transactionrequest from the user. The transaction request indicate the user'sintent to purchase an application related digital item. The third partyserver 120 may alter the flow of the digital item purchase transactionin order to improve the experience of the user. For example, the flowmay be altered to be less cumbersome if the user is more experienced, ormore educational if the user is less experienced.

In order to determine what transaction flow to provide to the user, thethird party server 120 communicates with the social networking system130 to obtain 320 application use and transaction information for theuser. The obtained 320 information is compiled and analyzed to determinea user's competency level with digital currencies and the purchase ofapplication related digital items. The obtained 320 information mayinclude the user's familiarity with applications as indicated by theamount of time spent using applications generally, the number ofapplication used, or other metrics. The obtained 320 information mayfurther include digital item transaction information, including thenumber of items purchased, prices paid, frequency of purchases, giftspurchased for other users, whether digital currency or real-worldcurrency was used, along with other purchase metrics.

In some cases, the obtained 320 information may also include userprofile information that may be relevant to the purchase. For example,if the transaction in question is the purchase of a gift for anotheruser who is connected to the user in the social networking system 130,the transaction flow may take this into account by altering the price ofthe item, or providing explanatory information for how the gift will beprovided or presented to the receiving user when the transaction iscompleted.

Using the obtained 320 information, the third party server 320determines 325 a transaction flow for the user based on a user'scompetency with digital currencies and application related digital itempurchases. In an alternative embodiment, rather than sending the thirdparty server 120 the user's application and transaction information, thesocial networking system 130 may determine a user's competency withdigital currencies and application related digital item purchases anduse the competency to determine a transaction flow for the user. Thetransaction flow may then be communicated to the third party server 120in place of transmitting 320 the underlying information used to make thedetermination.

If the obtained 320 information indicates that the user hascomparatively little competency with digital transactions and items, thetransaction flow includes additional explanatory material to increasethe user's comfort level with digital transactions. In one embodiment,the transaction flow will display the cost of the digital item inreal-world currency first and/or more prominently than the item's costin digital currency. Additionally, the user may be presented with thechoice of purchasing the item in real-world currency or digitalcurrency, as well as provided the option to purchase digital currency.The user may additionally be presented with explanatory informationexplaining the function and use of digital currency. In one embodiment,transaction flow will include additional steps providing the user withadditional opportunities to confirm or back out of the transaction. Forexample, the user may be presented 330 with the details of thetransaction clearly laid out one additional time. The third party server120 will then wait for the user's confirmation 335 of the transaction tobe received before proceeding with carrying out and completing thetransaction.

If the obtained 320 information indicates that the user hascomparatively greater competency with digital transactions and items,the transaction flow will include less explanation and require lessconfirmation by the user, such that the transaction may be completedwith little to no input from the user once they have initiated thetransaction. In this transaction flow, having received 315 thetransaction request from the user, the transaction may be conductedrequiring only one or zero confirmations from the user to conduct thetransaction. In one embodiment, the cost of digital items is presentedin digital currency first and/or more prominently than the real-worldcurrency cost equivalent. In one embodiment, it is presumed that theuser wishes to purchase items with digital currency unless otherwiseindicated, or so long as the user still has digital currency availableto debit from.

Assuming the user indicates a desire to proceed with the transaction,for example by initiating the transaction and/or by confirming it, thethird party server 120 communicates with social networking system 130 toconduct 340 the transaction. The social networking system 130 debits 345the user's account the cost of the transaction. The social networkingsystem 130 debits the user's digital currency or real-world currencyaccount depending upon the transaction flow and any received user choice335. The social networking system 130 communicates the completion 350 ofthe transaction to the third party server 120, which in turn provides areceipt 355 to the user regarding the completion of the transaction.

Credit Referrals

When a user is purchasing digital currency, the user may be providedwith the option of rewarding their friends with bonus credits inaddition to those they are purchasing in the transaction. These rewardsmay be given by the user as gifts to their friends to encourage them tobecome engaged with the applications interfacing with the socialnetworking system and digital currencies.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for providing digital currency referrals to usersconnected through a social networking system, according to oneembodiment. The social networking system 130 receives and stores 410digital currency transaction information for users of the socialnetworking system 130. The digital currency transaction informationincludes purchases of application related digital items. The socialnetworking system 130 also receives and stores users' interactions withthe applications associated with the social networking system.

At any time, a user of the social networking system may make a request420 to purchase a digital item. This request may be made through thethird party server 120 or through the social networking system 130directly. The digital item to be purchased may be associated with anapplication hosted by the third party server, or may be a digital itemthat may be used in conjunction with the social networking systemdirectly, for example a customized color avatar or gift type item. Thesocial networking system processes 420 the digital item transactionrequest. As described above, the processing of the digital itemtransaction request may incorporate altering the transaction flow in toincorporate the users' competency with digital item and digital currencytransactions.

The social networking system 130 uses previously received digital itemtransaction information to predict which other users of the socialnetworking system are likely to buy additional digital currency if theyare provided with bonus credits as a result of the user's digitalcurrency transaction 420. The prediction as to which users are likely tobuy additional credits if rewarded bonus credits may be based on thelevel of connectedness or the degree of separation between the users whowill be receiving the bonus credits and the original purchasing user.The degree of separation may be determined between any two users of thesocial networking system 130 by analyzing the user profile of thepurchasing user and determining the degree of connectedness between thepurchasing user and another user. For example, if two users areindicated as friends, then there would only be one degree of separationbetween the two. If the two were indirectly connected by one or moreother users, then the degree of separation between the users would betwo or higher depending upon the number of users that are traversed toconnect the two users. Generally, receiving users who are more closelyconnected, i.e., a lower degree of separation, to the purchasing userwill be considered to be more likely to purchase credits than users whohave a higher degree of separation.

The prediction may also be based on the history of the receiving userwith respect to application use, digital purchases, and digitalcurrencies. For example, users who have had more experience withapplications associated with the social networking system 130 areconsidered to be more likely to purchase credits for digital itemsrelated to those applications than users who have less experience.Experience in this regard may take the form of time spent using theapplication, degree of achievement towards progress markers indicated inthe applications (e.g., trophies achieved in a video game), or othermetrics. Users who have purchased digital items are considered morelikely to purchase digital items in the future than users who have not,and similarly users who have purchased more digital items are consideredmore likely to purchase even more digital items in the future than userswho have purchased fewer items. Users who have purchased digitalcurrencies are considered more likely to purchase more digital currencyin the future than users who have used only real-world currency topurchase items. Users who have purchased items using digital currenciesthey themselves purchased are considered more likely to purchase digitalitems than users who have purchased items using digital currenciesawarded to them for free, for example as a result of time spent usingthe applications.

In one embodiment, the predictions may be made by training a machinelearning algorithm to take as inputs several different signals,including the history of the receiving user with respect to applicationuse, digital purchases, and digital currencies. The machine learningalgorithm could also incorporate these signals from other users of thesocial networking system to increase the robustness of the machinelearning algorithm's determinations. The machine learning algorithmcould then be predicted to provide a prediction regarding the receivinguser's likelihood of buying additional credits if they were awardedbonus credits.

Based on the prediction, the social networking system 130 selects one ormore of the other users who are predicted as likely to buy additionalcredits if they were awarded bonus credits. The social networking system130 then provides 440 the purchasing user with a list of the one or moreusers as potential recipients of bonus credits. The purchasing user maythen choose to reward any of the provided users with bonus credits.

The bonus credits provided are in addition to any credits the user hasalready purchased. In one embodiment, the total number of bonus creditsis divided by the user at their behest to reward to the provided users.In another embodiment, the user chooses which of the selected users toreward with bonus credits, and each rewarded user receiving the bonuscredits receives the same number of bonus credits.

Digital Item Sales Aggregation

By storing and aggregating digital item transaction information, thesocial networking system 130 can provide a user with up to dateinformation about what kinds of digital items other users of the socialnetworking system are purchasing. The sales data is anonymous in that itrepresents the aggregated purchase preferences of groups of users ratherthan individual users. The sales information provided may also becustomized to the user's individual interests.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for providing a user with information regardingdigital items that other users of the social networking system havepurchased, according to one embodiment. As above, as users of the socialnetworking system make use of the applications associated with it, thesocial networking system receives and stores 510 sales informationregarding the user's interactions and transactions regarding theapplication. With regard to digital item transactions, the socialnetworking system 130 stores information regarding the price paid for adigital item, the aggregate sales of the digital item, the purchaser ofthe digital item, and the seller of the digital item.

In order to provide a viewing user of the social networking system withdigital item purchase information, the social networking system 130aggregates 520 the stored sales information. The information that isaggregated to determine what is provided to the user may vary. In oneembodiment, the social networking system 130 aggregates 520 salesinformation for users who are connected with the viewing user throughthe social networking system 130. In this case, the viewing user isprovided with sales information about items that their friends havepurchased. The information that is aggregated 520 may include allfriends of the viewing user connected directly through the socialnetworking system 130, or it may also include friends of friends of theuser, indirectly connected with the viewing user, or even friends offriends of friends, and so on, who are even more indirectly connectedwith the viewing user through the social networking system 130.

Alternatively, the users for which sales information is aggregated 520may be based on other information associated with the viewing user'sprofile. In one embodiment, the sales data is aggregated 520 based ondemographic information present in the viewing user's profile. Forexample, if the viewing user's profile indicates that the user lives inthe United States, or in California particularly, the social networkingsystem 130 may aggregate 520 sales data for users in the United States,or more specifically California. Any detail provided in the user profilemay serve as a criteria upon which to aggregate including, for example,the viewing user's interests, the viewing user's use of applicationsassociated with the social networking system, employment, familyconnections, and their educational institutions.

The social networking system processes the aggregated sales data todetermine a digital item of interest for which to provide the viewinguser with sales information. A digital item may be of interest if itsaggregated sales is higher than for other items detected in theaggregation, if a new seller is offering a particular digital item, orif the digital item has decreased in relative price over a period oftime. Other conditions are also envisioned to trigger the determinationthat a particular item is of interest.

In one embodiment, the determination of whether an item is of interestto a viewing user is based on the viewing user's history of applicationuse, digital currency purchases, and digital item purchases. Forexample, if the user's application indicates a preference for using aparticular application, the determination of whether a digital item isof interest may take into account the viewing user's revealed preferencefor that application. If the viewing user's digital item purchasehistory indicates that the user predominantly purchases digital itemsfor a particular application, the determination of whether a digitalitem is of interest may take into account the viewing user's revealedpreference for buying digital items that may be used in that particularapplication.

Responsive to determining a digital item of interest, the socialnetworking system 130 provides 540 the viewing user with salesinformation related to the digital item of interest. The salesinformation may include a name of the digital item and purchasinginformation for the digital item including a prices of the item forvarious sellers. The sales information may also include aggregate salesinformation, for example aggregate price information so that the viewinguser may discern whether or not it is a good time to buy the digitalitem based on historical price information.

Additional Considerations

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computerprogram code, which can be executed by a computer processor forperforming any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storagemedium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification mayinclude a single processor or may be architectures employing multipleprocessor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that isproduced by a computing process described herein. Such a product maycomprise information resulting from a computing process, where theinformation is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer programproduct or other data combination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: storing transaction information for a plurality of users of a social networking system, the transaction information representing purchases of digital items for a plurality of applications provided by a plurality of third party servers, the applications interfacing with the social networking system; receiving application use information for the users from the interfacing applications; processing a transaction for a purchase of digital currency by a purchasing user of the social networking system, the digital currency eligible for purchasing digital items; predicting receiving users of the social networking system who are likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits, the prediction based on a user profile of the purchasing user, the application use information, and the transaction information; selecting one or more receiving users of the social networking system based on the prediction; and sending the purchasing user an offer to refer bonus credits to the selected users, wherein the bonus credits are eligible for purchasing digital items, and wherein the bonus credits are in addition to the digital currency purchased in the transaction.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises determining a degree of separation between the purchasing user and the receiving users of the social networking system.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the predicting comprises determining that a receiving user is more likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits where the receiving user has a smaller degree of separation from the purchasing user as compared to a larger degree of separation.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises determining that a receiving user is more likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits where the receiving user has a history of using a plurality of the interfacing applications as compared to a history of using just one or none of the interfacing applications.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises determining that a receiving user is more likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits where the receiving user has a history of purchasing digital items with digital currency as compared to a history of using interfacing applications without purchasing digital items.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises determining that a receiving user is more likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits where the receiving user has a history of purchasing digital currency.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises determining that a receiving user is more likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits where the receiving user has a spent a greater amount of time using the interfacing applications as compared to another user who has spent less time using the interfacing applications.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises determining that a receiving user is more likely to buy additional credits if provided bonus credits where the receiving user has completed a greater number of interfacing application related achievements as compared to another user who has completed less of such achievements.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the predicting comprises querying a machine learning algorithm that has been trained with the transaction information and the application use information.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the prediction based on a user profile of the receiving users.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction information represents purchases of digital items usable with the social networking system.
 12. The method of claim 1, comprising providing the purchasing user an option to divide the bonus credits between a plurality of selected users.
 13. The method of claim 12, comprising allowing the purchasing user to determine an amount of bonus credits to refer to each selected user.
 14. The method of claim 1, comprising dividing the bonus credits equally between a plurality of selected users. 